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Monday, June 23, 2008

Obama's speech on fatherhood is worth all 24 minutes.

Click here to see it.

4 comments:

Chris said...

Others have said essentially the same thing and were considered racists. They just didn't "understand" the black family.

Fajita said...

Chris, i thought the same thig when I heard the content of the speech and asked myself why these people were cheering at this church and why they would be groaing if James Dobson said the same thing.

It has t do with context, intent, source, interpretation, and credibility.

This is a classic case of the message is not merely the content, but also the packaging. Many woud argue that there is a distinct difference between content and method, but I do not belive that is how people actually live. Most, no, all of life is interpreted through all kinds of lenses. It's unavoidable. Even if I know I do this and intentionally try not to, I can't not interpret.

Your comment, for example, is reflective of an interpretation. What you spent your valuable tie commenting on as not how good the content was, but on the motives and seeming inconsistencies of the audience. "W'eve been saying this for years!" seems to be your gist here.

You could have commented that Obama speaks a truth that is powerful from a voice found credible in the African-American community. But you didn't.

I am more inclined to follow the wisdom of Jesus which says if truth is being spoken, then it is good (loose translation).

Race is going to be a challenge election season and I hope Obama wins the election for that reason. In America, we've won the first level of the battle against racism, the most overt and obvious level, but there are layers and layers that must be unearthed. A black president will un earth them.

Chris said...

Race doesn't matter to me but I wouldn't vote for him because he is an extreme leftist.

Fajita said...

Chris, i thought the same thig when I heard the content of the speech and asked myself why these people were cheering at this church and why they would be groaing if James Dobson said the same thing.

It has t do with context, intent, source, interpretation, and credibility.

This is a classic case of the message is not merely the content, but also the packaging. Many woud argue that there is a distinct difference between content and method, but I do not belive that is how people actually live. Most, no, all of life is interpreted through all kinds of lenses. It's unavoidable. Even if I know I do this and intentionally try not to, I can't not interpret.

Your comment, for example, is reflective of an interpretation. What you spent your valuable tie commenting on as not how good the content was, but on the motives and seeming inconsistencies of the audience. "W'eve been saying this for years!" seems to be your gist here.

You could have commented that Obama speaks a truth that is powerful from a voice found credible in the African-American community. But you didn't.

I am more inclined to follow the wisdom of Jesus which says if truth is being spoken, then it is good (loose translation).

Race is going to be a challenge election season and I hope Obama wins the election for that reason. In America, we've won the first level of the battle against racism, the most overt and obvious level, but there are layers and layers that must be unearthed. A black president will un earth them.